THREE LIONS AIR HELL

Qat's out the bag

MUST BE LIE-IN

Inside the World Cup Al Bayt stadium in Qatar where VIP boxes come with BEDS

HE THINKS IT'S ALL BOJOVER!

Boris backing UK's bid to bring football home in 2030 World Cup

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BORIS JOHNSON

I want to unite this great nation… it's time the football World Cup came home

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QATAR HERO

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QATARSTROPHE

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Chinese take it away

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“We are based on working hard for each other, we don’t carry anybody, they all pressed, they all have good organisation and they are prepared to graft and dig in for each other.

“I know those are old-fashioned qualities but we don’t have the right to just stroll around a football pitch. We play with character and I love that about them.”

Harry Kane, the captain and Golden Boot favourite, worked his chestnuts off against the Colombians, just as he had to as a kid learning his trade on loan at the Orient.

Jordan Pickford, hero of England’s first ever penalty shootout victory at a World Cup, cut his teeth in the Conference, his goal being peppered in a relegated Darlington side.

And it was the Sheffield steel of former Blades Harry Maguire and Kyle Walker, along with the Barnsley Kaiser John Stones, who kept the Colombians at bay when England were forced on to the back foot at Moscow’s Otkrytie Stadium on Tuesday night.

The virtues Southgate underlined will be crucial again when they face a Sweden side who defend in numbers and sweat blood, having refused to recall Galactico, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, when he begged to come out of international retirement.

England are favourites to reach the semi-final but nobody who has seen the Swedes could assume it will be comfortable.

Saturday afternoon in the intense heat of Samara will be another stiff examination.

The manager added: “These are still a young group of players. So it was really significant because we can’t just be a team that goes out and plays.

“You have got to be savvy enough and tactically aware to manage games.

“That’s what makes the difference in big matches. I think beating Colombia was an important moment for everybody in our country.

“If we don’t get through from a game we played so well in, you know you will continue the history and mindset for teams to come.

“So it’s a huge moment for these players but also the next generations.”

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The England players celebrate their penalty winCredit: Reuters

Southgate — whose gamble on making eight changes for England’s final group match against Belgium was vindicated by victory — was impressed by his side withstanding Colombia’s intimidation tactics.

After witnessing the gut-wrenching drama of Yerry Mina’s injury-time equaliser, he said: “I admired the discipline under extreme pressure and the resilience, having suffered such a huge blow on the final whistle. Those are two traits we have talked a lot about but to see the guys execute them in an environment like that was brilliant.

“And going to extra-time, I’m even more pleased we did what we did in the Belgium game because I think it’s accumulation of fatigue that makes things more difficult.”

Southgate insists he is not concerned by England’s lack of goals from open play at this World Cup — they have netted two against Panama, one of them a fluke, with the rest coming from penalties, corners and free-kicks.

He said: “I think the style of our football gets us the free-kicks and corners.

“Teams are stopping us by fouling us and it’s great if we are able to punish them. So we can’t overlook the fact we are controlling games.

“We’re so composed in playing out from the back, that we are making teams work extra hard. They get dragged out of place and then have to dive in and make challenges they don’t want to.

“But we know in knockout games that an even higher percentage of goals come from set-plays, so it still has to be an area of focus for us at both ends.

“It has cost us the equaliser here, albeit they were able to lump everyone in the box and it was a bit freakish.”

Despite Southgate’s dedication and focus, he did let loose with a moment of Psycho screaming when Eric Dier converted the winning penalty. Now, with the draw having opened up and a nation convincing itself that ‘it’s coming home’, will the England boss be showing us some Nobby dancing?

He said: “I think the concern against Colombia was looking too far ahead. We are allowed to enjoy the win and we must. But then we are very much one game at a time.

“We know the size and difficulty of this task. Every other team in our half of the draw will be thinking exactly the same as us.”

You can’t imagine England’s players getting carried away this time.

Even if the rest of us fancy that a team so in touch with its roots could be headed down Route ’66.